Young adults hurt most by economy; parents had it easier

Young adults have a much tougher go of it today than their parents did years ago, for they are the ones getting whacked the hardest in these tough economic times, according to a report just out from the Pew Research Center.

Researchers said a 41 percent plurality of the public believes that young adults, rather than middle-aged or older adults, are having the toughest time of it today. Pew researchers said that feeling is supported by government economic data.

The Pew report was based on a mid-December poll of 2,048 adults nationwide, including 808 young adults, ages 18 to 34. The report also drew upon data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

I note this as a father whose youngest child will graduate from college this spring. He is a student in the Department of Visual Arts and New Media at SUNY Fredonia. There is a nontrivial chance that, following graduation, economic circumstances may force him to move back in with his mother and I, at least for a time.

OK, back to the Pew report. Here are other headlines:

• These tough times are forcing young adults to alter their plans for the future, forcing them to take jobs they did not want, return to school for more education and postpone marriage or having a baby.

• Adulthood starts later now. In a 1993 poll, 80 percent of parents with young children said their children should be financially independent by age 22. Now, on 67 percent feel the same way.

• There is still optimism. Nine out of ten young adults do believe they have enough money now or expect to have enough in the future. Only 9 percent said they don’t believe they ever will have enough money to live the life they want to lead. (However, among adults over the age of 35, the picture is darker. About 28 percent of those in that group think they will never make enough money in the future.)

• Older adults are doing much better. The age group 65 and older has managed economically better than any other group.

• Only 30 percent of young workers see their present job as a lifetime career. This number compares with the 52 percent of those over 35 who do see their occupations as a career.